Rep. Cook's homeless benefits bill passes House

WASHINGTON • A bill, authored by Rep. Paul Cook, of Yucca Valley, to extend benefits to homeless veterans was unanimously passed by the House as part of an amendment to HR 1412 on Friday.

Referred to as the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) Reauthorization Act, Cook had previously introduced a five-year extension of the program as HR 2150. HR 1412 extends the program for one year and ensures that the program will not expire in the next few days.

"The sad reality is that many of the men and women living on the streets are veterans," Cook said in a statement released Friday. "The programs funded by this bill have been helping veterans help themselves out of homelessness for decades, and it's imperative that we continue to fund this program."

Cook also said that though he was happy his bill extends the program for another year, "I'm hopeful we will revisit the original five-year extension soon."

HVRP is a grant program run by the Veterans Employment and Training Service of the U.S. Department of Labor.

Grants are generally made to non-profit, community-based organizations to fund efforts to qualify and place homeless veterans in jobs.

According to the latest statistics from the Department of Labor, from July 2011 to March, approximately 65 percent of total recipients were placed into employment and more than 16,000 participants enrolled, a news release from Cook's office stated.

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